


Mouse

by ChemistryDuck



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Gen, Pre-Time Skip, Pre-Timeskip Battle of the Eagle and Lion (Fire Emblem), Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Scheming Claude von Riegan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:20:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27685487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChemistryDuck/pseuds/ChemistryDuck
Summary: Lorenz was sick and tired of the outlandish and frankly childish behaviour from his peers. As nobles, they should comport themselves in a manner more fitting of their class. The jokes at his expense, the rude behaviour, and most of all the constant conspiring lead by that cad Claude Von Riegan. It was utterly ludicrous! Lorenz would show them all how important and respectable he really was, after all, he was perhaps the most upstanding person in all of Garreg Mach.Claude was frustrated to no end by the lack of cooperation from his fellow Golden Deer. As the next generation of Alliance lords, they needed to learn how to work together. With the mock battle between Garreg Mach's three houses rapidly approaching, his fears of being absolutely destroyed by Edelgard or Dimitri and of the resulting total embarrassment were at an all-time high. It was a record he had broken every day for the past week and a half. Claude would need a hell of a plan to pull this off, and he was getting desperate.What happens when a scheme goes very wrong and the Golden Deer need to work together to fix it before anyone else finds out.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 13
Kudos: 11





	1. Breakfast

"Oh my god, Lorenz. I had no idea you were a noble, it's not like you told us or anything. Oh, wait...you've literally mentioned it 873 times."

"Yeah. And every single one of those times has been during this meal."

"The blame does not lie with me alone! Is it so wrong to assume that the responsibilities each and everyone one of us members of the nobility have to better serve the common populations make excellent breakfast discussions? I think not." 

"No one cares what you think Lorenz." 

"Now you listen here, Leonie. Perhaps if you valued my opinions and listened to my views on the state of the Alliance and its governing system, you would be more informed-" 

"Now you listen here you pretentious rat. Maybe if you paid any attention at all to how us regular people live instead of droning on and on about the 'virtues of the nobility as a class' and the 'importance of Crests to the future of the Alliance' you would see how self-centred and obnoxious you are."

It was at this point that Byleth decided to intervene. Leonie had a record of stringing insults together followed by a string of punches to the gut. Lorenz for all his talk would not do well in a fight against Leonie. The teacher side of Byleth didn't want her students fighting so much. She had grown to appreciate all of them over the past couple of months and didn't want to see them hurt. The mercenary in her knew how effective a good fight could be when it came to solving problems. However, both sides knew that she would get an earful from Seteth if any of her Deer ended up in the infirmary for fighting each other. She couldn't take that speech a third time. She was almost certain that would end with Seteth in the infirmary and something much worse than any lecture for her.

"Both of you, enough of this. If you keep at it there will be consequences. Lorenz, let it go for today. If you head to the courtyard I've got a new tea to show you. Maybe you know who likes it? Leonie, take your breakfast and head to the training grounds and start warming up. You can help me demonstrate a couple things during class. Plus that can count as some training hours for your next certification exam. If I catch you doing this again anytime soon-" 

"What Teach? Are you going to write them up? Make them sit next to Hilda and wind up doing all her work? Finally team up with me for an elaborate scheme that will never get traced back to us? I'm thinking 'The Heist of the Ugly Velvet Rose'." 

"Claude you literally just said that in front of like eight people. Everyone will know." 

"Or is that what I want you to think Hilda? You are already being fooled by my maniacal plan." 

\--- 

Raphael was happy. Breakfast had been good with plenty of fresh bacon and fruit. Yes, the constant outbursts from his fellow Deer could be a bit much, but letting that spoil the best part of the day? He laughed out loud at the thought as he headed outside. Nothing could ruin breakfast. That was ridiculous! Breakfast was great! It tasted good and made his muscles strong and ready to train. Raphael loved the Officers Academy. Everyone was so friendly, he got plenty of training and food, plus he was on his way to becoming a knight. The Professor was working with him on strategy, one of the lessons he liked less. He didn't understand why rushing in and fighting was a problem. He was big and strong. He could take the hits. The other Deer preferred ranged attacks and didn't fair as well in close up combat. He needed to keep them safe. He would keep them safe. 

Lysithea was frustrated but not surprised about how breakfast went. It went how it always went. She needed to focus on school classes, not social classes. It was impossible to read, talk, or study during meals because somebody was always yelling at someone else. One of those people was almost always Lorenz. She would eat in the library but Tomas would never allow that. When she tried to follow Bernadetta's example and take her meals to her dorm, her teacher or classmates would come find her to see why she was missing. She wasn't a child. She could eat in a different location. She didn't need to be monitored at all times. At this point, if shooting Lorenz with Miasma would grant her peace and quiet, Lorenz would be on his way to Manuela five minutes into breakfast. Lysithea sighed and headed towards her room. She figured she had about twenty minutes before she was expected at the training grounds and was going to read. In peace. 

Leonie was at her breaking point with Lorenz. He was by far the most frustrating, obtuse, snob she had ever met. As she walked over to the training grounds she thought about how the morning had gone. How she was expected to get through the rest of the school year with a classmate like this was unimaginable. It seemed every morning was the same: Lorenz says something arrogant and self-important, Leonie tells him off (sometimes with the help of the other Deer), he says something worse, she squares up, someone breaks them up (usually before she has a chance to really get her point across), Marianne sorts everyone out before class, rinse and repeat. Leonie couldn't take much more of this. How could someone be so unaware of their own privilege, of how the real world is. The world far away from castles and servants, crests and titles, luxury and excess. The world where people go to bed hungry, where bandits attack, where pleas for help go ignored. No one wanted to help a small village that was struggling. No one in power cared that the people suffered. Lorenz and his rose-tinted view of the nobility disgusted Leonie. "Noble," she thought. "What a word to describe these people."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed the story so far. I have a big middle chunk done and am just trying to link this first section to the middle part. Hopefully, I will figure that out soon and I will try to update this asap. I exaggerated Leonie's beef with Lorenz a bit but this is before her later supports with him and before she gets to know him a bit better. The next section should be getting the plot rolling/start getting some more info about the main characters. The next chapters will also be longer but I was so excited to put this out into the world that I decided to do the first part in two pieces since I am struggling to link them. I would love to know what you think because this has been in my brain for a while now. 
> 
> PS I do struggle with titles and usually put whatever I have labelled my working document.


	2. Plans Brewing

Claude was running out of options. The mock battle between the Deer, Lions, and Eagles was looming over him like a storm cloud. His anxiety was through the roof, and nothing was working. He had tried every tactic he could think of and still his classmates were so busy fighting each other they forgot to fight the enemy. They could usually pull it together on a real battlefield, but someone always got hurt and Teach usually had to take control of the situation. Just this morning things had escalated to fisticuffs, and Teach had to step in. With no real danger, other than the eternal mocking he would surely face, his faith in the Deer was starting to wane. They would hardly take a mock battle seriously if they couldn't for real combat. "Think Claude, think. There must be something." He started pacing around his room as he thought. "I mean, there's always sabotage, but it would be good to win fairly. Also there will be one hundred percent be consequences for that play. I could offer a prize and make it a competition. No, no, no, that will only make them fight more. I mean jeez what do I do?" He sat down at his desk and decided to take a break. Often his best ideas came to him while he worked on something else. Maybe a side project would be the thing to do it. A smile crept across his face as he pulled out a quill and began to write. 

\---

The next couple days passed quickly for Claude. He would have a lot to do if his little project was to come to fruition. This was going to be one hell of an operation, and he needed everything to go smoothly. He was excruciatingly careful to keep this secret away from staff members. Yes, his schemes _occasionally_ had victims, but this was another level of scheming. 

Gathering the necessary materials was a bit challenging. He visited the market and made a couple of purchases. He collected plants from the greenhouse and books from the library. Claude enlisted help discretely. Teach let him into the classroom after hours so he could get his bag that had been left behind for sure by accident. One hundred percent by accident. Claude only realized when he was back in his dorm that some other items had found their way into the bag. Whoops. He told Lorenz and Ferdinand that it was free tea day or some such nonsense when they were chatting outside his room. The same day happened to be a sword fighting seminar that Felix had received multiple flyers for. Later Claude found out that he had been mistaken about free tea day. Oh dear, my bad, so sorry about the mix up guys, he had explained. And poor Felix must have mixed up the days. No seminar either? How peculiar. Coincidentally, with his neighbors gone Claude had ample time to work on his plan in secret. Most of his ingredients had been stashed in a variety of locations and with the hallway clear it was a perfect time to smuggle them to his room. He made an enormous sacrifice and didn't tease Lysithea for an entire day. In return he received some delicious baked goods, some of which did just get eaten by him. Scheming was hard work and he needed snacks. He ended up needing to be nice to Lysithea for a second day. By the end of the week though, his bed was overflowing with supplies, and everything was in place. Well, almost everything. 

\---

Hilda was done with trying to figure out Claude. Everyone gave into her charms eventually, and she got whatever she needed from them. Everyone but her bestie. Claude was a complete mystery, even to her. No one knew anything about him that he didn't want them to know. Hilda knew that Claude was up to something, but pressing would only make him want to share less. For the past week he had been acting weird, well, weirder than usual. He was constantly in the library (pretty normal for Claude but this was crazy) , scribbling notes like a madman (again, par for the course to an extent) , but strangest of all she saw him up a tree pulling off leaves in the middle of the night. What she wouldn't give to know what was going on with him, but if Claude wanted it to stay a secret it would. She considered trying to find out for herself just what was happening, but there was no out-scheming the master schemer. Plus, plotting was hard work.

\---

Lorenz was resting in his dorm room. It had been a long and trying day for his patience and his diplomacy skills. His father was certainly incorrect in his assessment of Lorenz's diplomatic abilities. He was incredibly diplomatic, more so than most, he figured. Recently every day had been a long and trying day for his patience and his diplomacy skills. At least today hadn't been as bad as the day Leonie actually managed to land a couple blows during breakfast. He sighed. Why on earth did she feel the need to behave that way? True, she hadn't exactly been raised with etiquette lessons, but brawling at the breakfast table? Really? He ought to try and give her some suggestions about how to improve her manners. But would calling out some else poor comportment be considered impolite? He penned a note reminding himself to consult a book on that. Maybe he could gift her an etiquette book? Hmm, suggestive gift giving was also probably rude. He added looking into gift giving to his note. 

Lorenz continued to ponder the situation as he stood up from his desk and began to brew a cup of tea. Nothing helped him relax more than enjoying a fresh pot of his favorite rose petal blend. He had just taken the first sip when suddenly there was a knock on his door.

"Hiya neighbor! I've got some muuufffins," the voice on the other side sang out. "You wouldn't happen to want some, would you? Maybe we could chat for a moment, hmmm?"

Normally, Lorenz would have loved to enjoy a tea party with a classmate, however he was very tired tonight. With a sigh, he decided to open the door and see what was going on. A large basket of fresh baked goods was thrust into his face. Lorenz sighed again. It would be rude to not at least speak with his guest a moment. Besides, Lorenz did quite like muffins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lorenz, Ferdinand, Felix: No tea/swords! >:(  
> Claude: Really? Oh man could've sworn I didn't lie about that to you all so that you would leave me alone for a couple hours. Nope. Guess I just got mixed up. My b.
> 
> Thank you for your patience with this one. I had a crazy week and wasn't able to sit down and get into writing this story, it was done in bits and pieces. Not a bad week just busy. The next chapter should be out much sooner because I already have it mostly done. Now that we are getting into the action and starting to hear from some of the main characters, I would love to know what you think. Have an amazing day!
> 
> Next week: a bigger scene starring all your favorite deer.   
> 
> 
> I don't know why I wrote the dialogue for the "mysterious" guest at the door the way I did but it popped into my head and it was hard to deviate once I wrote it down.


	3. Watcha got there bud?

Byleth knew something was off. The day started the same as it always did. She headed to the Golden Deer classroom and started getting ready to teach. Lysithea arrived early carrying a stack of books that towered over her. Ignatz and Marianne came five minutes before class as the Professor had asked on the first day. Raphael showed up more or less on time with a stack to rival Lysithea's, but of pancakes instead of tomes. Leonie came up behind him and they chatted about training while the class settled down. Hilda showed up at her usual time, which was to say fifteen minutes late. Byleth had long given up on trying to force Hilda to get up in the mornings and let Lorenz do the lecturing for her. Fortunately, he was rather good at nagging and spouting off the virtues of punctuality. Unfortunately, it tended to put Hilda to sleep and cause the other Golden Deer to want to use him for target practice. Byleth usually intervened. Usually. 

What made the morning unusual was a couple of things, most notably the increase in bickering between students. Fights weren't out of place but Byleth hadn't thought it possible for the Deer to squabble more than they already did, especially when the room seemed less full than usual. Hilda had slept in, missing breakfast. Being too lazy to find some herself, she had snatched Raphael's. This had caused him to start moaning about how he would absolutely starve. Ignatz tried, in vain, to calm him down while Marianne had convinced herself that she was to blame and was on the brink of tears. While upset, Raphael had bumped into Lysithea's mountain of books and knocked them over. When Leonie told her it wasn't a big deal, to get over it and just pick them up, Lysithea started to yell about how Leonie was always telling her what to do and treating her like a child. Just like that the of two them were in an argument that was quickly blown out of proportion. Soon everyone was either screaming at their classmates to stop being such idiots, yelling for them to calm down already or underneath a desk sobbing. Byleth looked at the clock: six past nine. The class started at 8:45. It had been six minutes since everyone showed up. _Six_ minutes. It was going to be a long day.

Byleth had managed to get everyone seated and quiet. She looked around the room and it dawned on her. She was missing students. Lorenz and Claude were nowhere to be found. She highly doubted they were together, and it was unlike either to skip class. Sure, Claude may have been loosely involved with a couple of the "incidents" that had happened recently (Seteth couldn't prove that Hubert's food poisoning hadn't been caused by bad eggs), but he genuinely cared about the class enough to come. Lorenz was much too concerned about his public image to miss class, and it wasn't like they had anywhere else to go: Garreg Mach was a boarding school after all. 

If the day had been uneventful, Lorenz would have tried to correct everyone at least once, made some haughty comments about the importance of the nobility, and been an all-around pretentious rat. Byleth sighed, Leonie was getting to her. She couldn't think of a student as a pretentious rat. She knew that he had the best of intentions but was super unaware of how others would interpret his actions. He was getting better with his spells and had improved a lot with the lance. He just needed to focus on being a little more ... down to earth. 

If it had been a normal day Claude would have commandeered a desk and jumped about like a madman for some reason, or perhaps would have set off a smoke bomb, or tried to take advantage of the chaos to read the notes on Byleth's desk or ... honestly Claude pulled different crap every day, so at least it kept things interesting for her. But she did appreciate having him in her class. The other Deer would (for the most part) listen to him. He knew how to interact with each of them and how best to help them. He didn't have Edelgard's demeanour that demanded the respect of her Eagles, nor the history and loyalty of the Lions and Dimitri. Regardless of that, there was just something about him that made everyone want him in their corner. Despite his constant scheming and inability to trust others, Byleth had faith that he would come through when it mattered. He was also one of the few students who managed to keep a level head on the battlefield and while training. She sighed, Claude of all people was the responsible, reliable, put together student in her class. None of the other teachers would believe it. Maybe it was just because he was the house leader that he tried to keep it together, but Byleth believed that he really understood the importance of being able to put aside differences and get work done. 

Suddenly Claude dashed into class. He looked incredibly distressed and his eyes darted around the room wildly. He was clutching his hands close to his body and it was obvious that he was trying to hide something. 

"Hey Teach! Sorry that I'm late. What are we working on today?" He tried to find a seat quickly to avoid any questions. Uncharacteristically, his plan failed miserably. 

"Why were you late?"

"I was working late on a project. Didn't fall asleep until very early in the morning."

"Whatcha holding there?"

"You know Hilda, we never talk about you. What are you holding?"

"We always talk about me, Claude! Plus I'm not the one slowly pulling my hand behind my back, oh and now you are showing me one hand at a time being empty. Do you think I'm five?"

"You act like you're five."

"Have you seen Lorenz?"

"Oh yeah. Saw him yesterday, the day before, the day before that, four days ago. Should I keep going?"

"What's going on?"

"Uh, you guys are asking me far too many questions about something of very little importance."

"Can we start soon?"

"Yes, I think we should start the class immediately. Good idea Lysithea. Let's get moving. Lots to do today, right Teach?"

"You know Claude, I am also rather interested in knowing why you were late. Maybe we start with laps until you feel like sharing?"

Hilda reached over and grabbed Claude by the braid. "Claude you had better tell her right now. I know you have this whole mysterious thing but I swear if you make me run laps you will regret it."

"Ow, OW! Let go! Geez. For someone who hates exercise as much as you do, you are scary strong. Okay, okay, okay. I really thought I could fix this on my own but I think I need help for this one. I really screwed up guys. I thought it would be a good joke, but I really, really messed up. I had whipped up a fantastic new potion for which Lorenz was to be my test subject. It was supposed to make him, you know I could still use that idea later if I just make sure that... but that's not important now. Anyway, it didn't work because I used hornbeam leaves instead of beech leaves. That completely threw off the balance of the whole concoction and well..." He hung his head, opened up his hands, and presented the results to his classmates. 

For a brief moment, there was only silence. Then a tidal wave of voices hit Claude as the Deer snapped out of their shock. 

"CLAUDE IS THAT AN EFFING MOUSE?!"

"Hilda shut up please I am begging you."

"GODDESS THIS CAN NOT BE HAPPENING!"

"Good riddance." 

" _Really_ Lysithea. Read the room."

"Give me a break."

"Claude, please, please be joking. You CAN NOT have done this!"

"I mean clearly he has a mouse Ignatz."

"What do we even do with him now!? Can we fix him?"

"Do we want to?"

"I mean we should probably at least try, right?"

Leonie howled with laughter. "I can't believe it," she wheezed. "You turned him into a literal rat! A RAT!"

Marianne was worried about the little mouse. She wanted the other Deer to be quiet because they were scaring him with all the commotion. She watched him squirming in Claude's hands trying to escape. She thought about warning him but what was the point. Nobody should listen to her anyway. Anything she said was unimportant and didn't matter. No one should waste their time on someone like her. She should just leave before she made it worse. The other students would be better off without her. She would just get in their way and be a burden. She slowly started to draw back from the group as they continued to scream, some in shock, some in glee. Marianne was a mouse. Small, useless, unlovable, unwanted. If only she had a cozy little mouse hole to hide away in. All tucked away from everyone else. Not getting in the way. All alone in a cracked wall. Her spiral was pierced by a high pitched shriek. It seemed that Lorenz was escaping from Claude's grasp. 

Reaching out a swift hand Claude grabbed the little mouse. "Hilda get me a box from over there or something. Guys you all NEED to be quiet. The Lions are going to hear us panicking and find out what I've done. Okay?" He opened the lid of the tin Hilda had found and set Lorenz inside. Using a knife, Raphael poked a couple of holes in the top before handing it back to Claude who closed up the tin. With Lorenz secured he turned to address the Deer. "So I know you're all wicked confused but I'm dead if Seteth finds out, so uhhh... Teach? A little help, please? I can fix this as long as no one else learns about this. Also maybe don't go tell on me. Yeah. That would be good." After getting a nod from his professor he continued. "I really hope you don't mind Teach, but I think training might have to wait for today." He grinned, "Good news guys! Looks like we have a class pet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Claude: Guys I goofed up and now Lorenz is a mouse.  
> Lysithea: *pulls out a birthday blower* Hell yes. Hated that fool.
> 
> Hello! This is actually the first scene I wrote for this story. After writing ch 1 and 2 I added a bit (a LOT) more details to this scene and it was ready to go. That first scene was just the opening section describing the classroom. The rest of this was added this week. This was super fun to write so I hope you enjoyed it! Except for the Marriane part, that was sad. A quick note about the leaves mix up, I was trying to find two different trees with similar leaf shape and I decided on Hornbeam and Beech. They both have very similar colouring, shape, and grouping on a branch. Second quick note, I think that Hilda grabbing Claude's braid happened in another story I read a long time ago and I realized that was totally something she would do to get her way. This felt like the right place for her to do something like that. Final note, I apologize if there is any weird grammar. I keep having punctuation issues when I run it through a grammar checker and have probably missed some of them. Hopefully not too noticeable, I am trying my best :)
> 
> Have a wonderful day!


	4. Group Work - Bow Shots and Paint Spots

The students of Garreg Mach's Golden Deer house had been having an incredibly long week. They had been sharing the responsibilities of their new pet with some difficulty. It had been Raphael's idea to take turns caring for Lorenz. Claude was a bit hesitant to bring in the other Deer for help on the plan. He worked alone, always had. He was the only person that he could fully trust, plain and simple. Claude agreed after he realized three things: the mouse could not stay in the classroom overnight (Teach was not going to cover for him THAT much), he was never going to sleep if it lived with him, and people were less likely to suspect some of the other Deer of anything scheme adjacent. It would take some getting used to, but out of everyone, these were the people he trusted the most at this school. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have partners. 

The plan was simple, during class time, Lorenz would stay with the Golden Deer while they attended the Officers Academy where they could keep an eye on him together. Each day, the Deer would rotate through watching him overnight. Claude would watch him on weekends and Teach had agreed to stay silent about the whole thing provided that the students kept the classroom clean. For once, Hilda had a good excuse to pass on participating: her room was next to Edelgard's. If the princess caught a glimpse of the Deer's rodent friend they would have hell to pay. Unfortunately for her, Claude wasn't going to let Hilda get away without helping at all. He sold it as a managerial role and that she would supervise, but not participate in, the work. Hilda figure it was the best she was going to get and agreed. She kept track of whose day it was, bought supplies in town for the class, and most importantly spread the cover story for Lorenz's disappearance. 

The staff at Garreg Mach were told that Lorenz had returned home suddenly at the request of his father. It was important business and they need not worry. "Lorenz" apologized in a letter for his poor behaviour in failing to give them proper notice before his departure. Leonie was surprisingly adept at writing with Lorenz's particular vocabulary. She claimed she just tried to sound as annoying and pretentious as possible. It was Marianne who, with some coaxing from Hilda, shared her idea for a finishing touch: a red wax rose seal. A quick poke around Lorenz's room from Claude yielded three different stationery sets, from which Marianne found the necessary materials. The envelope was marked with an address and slipped into a messenger's bag while walking past. Everything was in motion.

The plan had been put together shortly after Claude had come clean about his really very understandable and super-not-a-big-deal-guys-just-chill-about-it mistake. The plan was good, organized, and efficient. The first week of the plan was anything but. 

\---

The rest of Monday went surprisingly well. The Deer decided to make the first day as easy as possible, so Ignatz would take Lorenz for the night. He had an easy path from the classroom and could even walk with the other deer the whole way. Plus if anything went wrong, Raphael and the professor were both nearby to help. Claude figured that Ignatz was a pretty low-risk opening move that would build confidence in the scheme. 

Byleth continued her lecture on ranged tactics after everyone had calmed down sufficiently. Despite the setback, they covered everything they needed to before breaking for lunch. Byleth had started leaving time in her lectures because there was always something or another with her Deer. Admittedly, this was a bit more extreme than usual. Usually, it was arguing or a plethora of questions from Lysithea that took up the extra time. As a teacher, she never minded questions but the constant bickering was getting very old, very quickly. On the battlefield, she almost wanted to force them to smarten up and act like adults, but she couldn't risk them getting hurt. Byleth considered talking to Claude when this was all over. Maybe they could set something up where the other Deer would be forced to get it together but not be in any real danger. She had hoped the mock battles would help with that but no luck so far. She sighed. They would just have to keep working on it when this new problem was solved. She did dread the other staff finding out about this particular incident. If he had thought fighting was bad she shuddered to think how Seteth would react to pupil transfiguration. It was the main reason she had agreed to keep quiet. That and she trusted Claude. He rarely messed up his schemes and this was a pretty big mess despite him trying to play it off as insignificant. 

The students were off to the training grounds for the afternoon lesson. They picked up Lorenz from the classroom and draped a blanket over the tin he was in. Claude made a mental note to make Hilda go buy a cage for the mouse. He knew she would be more than willing to run an errand during training time. As Raphael started to head towards the door with the bundle, they all realized that the other classes would certainly take note of a mysterious blanket ball. After thinking for a moment Lysithea snapped her fingers and headed over to a storage chest. 

"Whatcha doing there, Lysithea?" 

She turned back towards her housemates holding a stack of blankets and smiled. "You know, Claude's not the only one with sneaky plans." 

\----- 

Leonie laughed as she dodged a training arrow from Ignatz. "I know that this was for a reason and all, but this is great Lysithea!" 

"Yeah Lysithea this is a pretty good scheme for a beginner" Claude smirked. A millisecond later he hit the ground hard as a spell that was super duper not 'non-lethal' missed him by an inch. 

"Sorry Claude," came a distinctly not sorry voice. "I guess I'm just a clumsy little child, Claude. Oops." 

"Haha. I was only teasing," Claude exaggerated a pout. A second projectile shot towards him from the same direction. 

Byleth smiled as she watched over the exercise in the now unrecognizable training grounds. There were blankets, shields, and other training equipment strewn about to create hiding spots and uneven ground. The students were split into two groups, one working on their ranged attacks, the other on their dodging skills. The students seemed to be having fun for the most part: Ignatz wasn't a huge fan of trying to shoot his classmates as was Marianne, but Lysithea was more than making up for it. She was sending magical bolts in all directions with a grin. Leonie was clearly in her comfort zone, leaping and rolling from hiding spot to hiding spot. Claude was also doing very well, though he did seem to be actively poking up sporadically just to taunt Lysithea. Raphael, unfortunately, was failing miserably as he was much too large to benefit from any of the cover offered by the shields. Hilda had left a while ago to purchase a proper cage for Lorenz and she predictably did not seem to be in a rush to get back. Byleth agreed with her students, it was a great idea. The activity was in line with today's lesson and had provided excellent cover as they hurried past the other classrooms. Lorenz's tin had been tucked into a crate carried by Raphael while the other Deer toted shields, string, boxes, and plenty of blankets towards the training grounds. She was almost certain the Lions had seen the blanket procession but were used to ignoring their neighbours' antics. The Eagles on the other hand were less likely to politely smile and let strangeness pass without comment. Luckily, they were all engrossed in Hanneman's lecture or asleep. 

Halfway through training, Byleth switched up the roles. Leonie and Claude acted as archers, while Raphael used a blunt throwing axe. Marianne, Lysithea and Ignatz hid, dodged, and crouched in an attempt to avoid the projectiles. Byleth noticed that the offensive group was performing much better than the defenders, largely thanks to their house leader. Claude was a natural at archery and seemed completely in his element as he twirled, nocked, and fired arrow after arrow. Leonie was fairing very well too. Having grown up hunting in the woods she was used to shooting with an obstructed view. Raphael was working his hardest and despite not having as much experience was actually hitting the mark often. It was becoming clear that the teams were not evenly matched. She scribbled a few more notes for the ranged attackers and set down her papers. Byleth reached down behind the bench she was sitting on and closed her hand around a familiar object.

\--- 

It was quiet and the scene in front of him was still. Claude frowned. He wasn't sure what was going on and he didn't like not knowing. He tensed and reached for another arrow. Scanning the maze of blankets, shields, spears, and other training equipment he saw nothing. Where were his classmates? He looked to the sidelines to see what Teach thought of this. The empty bench barely had time to register before a barrage of sparks was flying towards him. Whipping his head back to the training grounds he dove to the side and shot an arrow towards the source. Nothing. The space showed no indication of the assault from mere seconds ago. Blankets were still, the only motion coming from the three attacking Deer as they readied for whatever was coming next.

What happened next was Lysithea. She, flanked by Ignatz and Marrianne, fired blasts of magic towards the ranged attackers. Fire, angelic light, and poison clouds were all being directed by Lysithea around the impromptu battlefield. She was focusing on taking out Raphael and creating chaos. Ignatz was firing from behind her whenever an opportunity opened. Leonie and he were exchanging shots across the grounds. Marianne alternated between shots of healing magic and Nosferatu spells. For the training exercise, everyone had borrowed goddess rings from the monastery's supply. As long as people didn't aim to kill, everyone would come out fine. Marianne always made sure that injuries were also kept to a minimum. Plus, it was good to practice healing for real battles. Claude felt his head spin as his visibility decreased. The air was thick with spells and arrows, not to mention the obstacles dividing the area. From what he could see, Leonie, Raphael, Lysithea, and Ignatz were all keeping each other busy. Marianne popped up periodically to help out, but she wasn't coming after him either. Claude's grip on his bow tightened. Why would they completely ignore him? It was a bad strategy, and for all his teasing, Lysithea knew what she was doing when it came to tactics. She must have a plan, maybe split him off and finish the other two before coming for him? No, there was nothing keeping him over here. This was either a bad strategy or it was something more sophisticated than he was anticipating. 

Claude inhaled sharply when she leaped out from behind a blanket, her face lit by the glow from the Sword of the Creator. After a seconds hesitation, he fired. So this was what was happening, he thought to himself with a grin. This is what's going to keep me occupied. His first shot hit off a shield she scooped up from the ground. She advanced towards him, sword drawn and ready. "You're really gonna fight an archer with a sword and shield Teach? You'll never get close with that heavy thing and I'll shoot you if you drop it," he teased. "I'm pretty quick you know." A second arrow sprouted in her shield. She continued walking forward at a steady pace as he backed up, keeping the distance between them. A third arrow hit beside the others. Unfazed, his professor continued to advance, sword drawn but lowered with her shield held higher. Claude reached for another arrow and spun it between his fingers.

Byleth threw down her shield and Claude fired as she charged forward. It was a straight shot, enough power that it would be clear who had "won". It never met its mark. The Sword of the Creator whipped forward, ripping through the arrow and sending splinters to the ground. Before he could fire another shot she was too close for it to matter. She had never needed the stupid shield, she just wanted him to think she did. Her sword, back in its solid form, pointed at his chest. "What was that about shooting me?" He released the last arrow. She swatted it away easily and moved even closer.

"I've killed archers with a sword before, Claude. If I wanted you dead, you would be." The tip of her sword pressed against his chin. Claude gulped. Byleth flashed a rare tiny grin herself as she lowered her blade. "Talk less when you fight. It doesn't distract me like you think it does." Claude rubbed the back of his neck but tried to keep up a smile. She turned away and called over her shoulder, "Stop by on Saturday. I have something to show you." She raised her voice before adding, "Everyone, get this place back in order and go wash up. We're done for the day. Good work."

\--- 

By the time that dinner rolled around the class (minus Hilda), was exhausted. Leonie and Lysithea were laughing as they discussed the training highlights, and Hilda was trying to explain to Marianne that no one was upset by her participation. Raphael was leading the way towards the dining hall, claiming that this was by far the hungriest he had ever been. Claude had noticed Hubert waiting outside for the princess and was antagonizing him as they walked past. Byleth sighed but didn't stop him. Claude turned back to her and smirked as they walked over to the table. He noticed both the dirty look she gave him and the tightness in her lips indicative of a held back smile. He was getting better at reading her. She had an unusually fixed look as if she were carved of stone, but tiny shifts in her expression could reveal her emotion. It was a skill he had acquired while learning to hide his tells and had come in useful countless times. Teach was by far one of the hardest people to decipher, but he had gotten pretty good at it. It was hard because there we so many unknowns with her, and she wasn't the type to open up to just anyone. He wondered if she was trying to figure him out in the same way. After all, he had a lot of secrets too. Claude was snapped back to reality by a tap on the shoulder. 

"Claude, we have absolutely everything that we need in the classroom, right? I know it's all going to be fine, but I'm still kind of nervous." 

"Of course we have everything ready to go, Ig. I can't come with you all the way, but I'll walk with you to class and then Raphael will help you get to your room. Plus Teach will be there too. She can handle anything!" 

"I know, and I get that there are people to help me. I guess I'm just worried that I'll get nervous if people ask questions and panic." 

"I picked you to go first for a reason, Ignatz. You're smart and most importantly you know when to ask for help. Not many people can set aside their pride and admit that they're worried. I'm confident in your ability to pull this off." 

"Well, okay then! It will all be fine! Thanks." 

"No problem, Ig. No problem." 

\---

Ignatz had said his good nights' to his friends and teacher and was safely in his dorm with Lorenz. He reached through the bags that Hilda had brought over and began setting up the cage for the little mouse. He finished it off with a dish of water and a bowl of food before placing Lorenz gently in and shutting the door. He then set about organizing the supplies into different bags to make things easier for the other students. It was hard enough to smuggle a mouse around, having multiple bags with large quantities of food and other essentials would only add to the challenge. He figured dividing it all up would help everyone. Plus, calm repetitive tasks were good for his nerves. 

As the last rays from the sun slipped away, he finished up everything he needed to do for the night. Ignatz still felt restless and was unable to even consider sleep. The one thing that helped him when he felt like this was painting. He grabbed his coat and tucked brushes, paints, and after debating for a moment Lorenz into various pockets. A blank canvas was held snugly under his arm as he clicked the doors to his room shut. Glancing around, he walked through the gate and turned into the courtyard between the officer's academy and the dormitories. Smiling, he peered up at the moon and exhaled deeply. The stillness of the night was already beginning to calm him. Drawing himself back down from the heavens, Ignatz began to paint. 

The brush danced across the canvas as Ignatz pulled rich colours in long smooth lines. A woman's form became clearer and clearer, striding amongst the shadows of the willows, mist rolling across the lush ground. Ignatz painted a composition of his own creation, blending aspects from the surroundings with shapes from cathedral statues and descriptions from scripture. The natural elements were combined from the different environments he had sketched during monthly missions. 

Ignatz had become completely engrossed in his art. When reaching for the blue tube of paint he realized that his pocket was much less full. He turned around and began scanning the ground, barely noticing when he bumped over his canvas. Nothing. he rushed around the courtyard, stumbling and checking under bushes and crates. He needed to focus, to calm down. Lorenz was smart and wouldn't run off just anywhere, right? Not with so many cats around. Suddenly, Ignatz remembered that he hadn't checked under the painting and rushed over to it. When he reached the canvas his eyes widened in horror. Lorenz had walked all over the wet paint smudging the crisp edges. Worse still, the blue tube must have leaked and coated Lorenz's paws in the pigment. The entire grassy area was covered in tiny blue prints.

Ignatz swiftly scooped the mouse into his coat and buttoned the pocket shut. That was enough painting for tonight though Ignatz with a sigh. And just when the anxiety had started to lessen. Sitting down on a crate, Ignatz pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It had been one of his best pieces. He had felt so content with the level of detail, the realism in his work. It was unfortunate, but he would have to start over. He raised his head and looked over at the damaged art. Ignatz paused. From where he was sitting the piece looked whole, unblemished. He stood up and rushed over to it and the flaws were again visible, blue pox marks marring the greenery. Now, this was interesting. Why should the blue be covered immediately if it might still work? Ignatz figured there might still be a way to complete the painting. He grabbed the yellow paint and using the end of his brush began to add points of brightness to the grass, along with spots of different shades of green. He stood there for hours and covered most of the painting with small daubs of paint. From close up there were no defined edges or even a clear image, but when viewed from afar, a realistic build of colour was created from the spots. The result was breathtaking. Ignatz grinned and looked down at Lorenz. 

"Maybe this is whole and good enough, you know? I like the idea that blue and yellow can exist on their own and still make up green. It's nice. I think this is something that would be good to try again, but now what I really want is sleep. Thanks for helping me see something new."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Claude: Hey Hubert! Totally caught you trying to spy on me before the battle.  
> Hubert: *Frowns*  
> Claude: It's all good, just part of it, eh? Just like with what I did with Edelgard's axe. All good fun!  
> Hubert: *sprints to warn Edel*  
> Byleth: What did you do to it?  
> Claude: Absolutely nothing, but that's now Hubert's whole day :) 
> 
> Hello! I hope you all had a lovely holiday. First thing, a bit of housekeeping. I don't think I'm going to try and stick to a specific update schedule. Sometimes (like recently) the next part of the story just isn't ready yet and writing random filler or wrapping up a chapter with anything just to get it done feels wrong, and I want to avoid that. Probably going to be a minimum of 2 weeks between uploads, but hey inspiration might strike. I am still in school and that has to be a priority, but a lot of planning for the next couple of chapters has happened over the break so that should help. Additionally, I've just been having an overwhelming little while (personal emergency stuff) and writing had to go on the back burner. Things seem to be getting back to normal, and with another lockdown in my region writing might be a good activity. Really just wanting to make sure it's all clear: the story is not being abandoned, just a small break and we are back up and running. 
> 
> With that out of the way, I do hope you are enjoying the story and seeing how the dynamic between the Deer is already starting to change. The idea behind Ignatz's scene is that 1) he (with the help of everyone's favourite rodent) created a pointillism piece and 2) that he is learning about perspective. The idea that things don't have to go to plan to go well, you know? Plus, finally a Claude and Byleth scene. More to come with that.
> 
> Last, a new pairing to come soon. Any guesses?
> 
> Thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed the story so far. I have a big middle chunk done and am just trying to link this first section to the middle part. Hopefully, I will figure that out soon and I will try to update this asap. I exaggerated Leonie's beef with Lorenz a bit but this is before her later supports with him and before she gets to know him a bit better. The next section should be getting the plot rolling/start getting some more info about the main characters. The next chapters will also be longer but I was so excited to put this out into the world that I decided to do the first part in two pieces since I am struggling to link them. I would love to know what you think because this has been in my brain for a while now. 
> 
> PS I do struggle with titles and usually put whatever I have labelled my working document.


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